Melvin Van Peebles
L'Uomo Caffelatte

THE REVIEW

"The Watermelon Man" is a comedy directed by Melvin Van Peebles in 1970, addressing the theme of racism in bourgeois America by focusing on irony rather than stern moralism. The film, not easy to find (due to its lack of success), is very brilliant, at times irresistibly comical. The screenwriters and director skillfully exploit racial stereotypes to create paradoxical situations in a chain of events that drags the protagonist into an absurd and entirely illogical story.

Jeff Gerber is a white insurance salesman, part of the middle class, dedicated to his career and physical fitness (every morning he exercises, then "races" the bus by running on foot to work, he uses tanning beds, etc.), but he is also racist and arrogant. In short, he leads a settled and quiet life, boxed into a type of environment that's liberal in name only, until one fine morning (actually a horrible, really horrible morning), he wakes up "black." From this moment, a series of incredible misadventures begin (starting with his wife who, of course, does not recognize him at first and is frightened to death) that touch on both his work and personal life. Naturally, Jeff does not give up and seeks a "cure": among countless attempts, he consults doctors, bathes in milk, and covers himself with "whitening" substances. Unfortunately for him, all efforts are in vain. The gags follow one after the other, and the protagonist swings from states of deep depression to moments of furious anger (for example, he assaults a delivery man accused of bringing him a sunbed he had previously ordered). This "transformation" triggers a mechanism whereby all the people around him (colleagues, friends, neighbors - who even make threatening phone calls) soon abandon him. The ending is very interesting, decidedly unusual for a light-hearted and feel-good comedy like this one. I won't say more about it.

"The Watermelon Man" not only humorously critiques the racist man without overemphasizing, but in some sequences, it also points a finger at society and its hypocrisy. When the "black" Jeff runs for the first time with the bus, he is immediately chased by the crowd because everyone assumes he has stolen something ("Did you see him steal?" a passerby asks, "No, but a black man running must have stolen something" replies another); when, on the other hand, the boss notices Gerber’s change, he only sees the opportunity to have an agent for a new outlet in the black market.

The film is truly entertaining, and even though it starts to feel a bit dated (but never too much), it is delightful in its comedic inventions and manages to avoid slipping into that easy and banal anti-racist rhetoric, in which Hollywood often indulges, which (no matter how rightful it might be) would be cloying to an averagely intelligent audience. Significant is the choice of lead actor Godfrey Cambridge, a black actor made up as a white in the first part (reversing the custom of old silent cinema).

Rating 3.5